NCAA Gators OK City 2010/03/16-18
by dbadair
Double trouble: BYU tops UF
By Kevin Brockway
Gainesville Staff writer
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - It took close to three hours and two overtimes for Florida and BYU to resolve their first-round NCAA Tournament matchup.
THREE QUESTIONS
1. Can Florida contain BYU star point guard Jimmer Fredette?
Fredette scored 37 points, though he needed to take 26 shots to do it. Fredette was 1-for-6 from 3-point range before hitting two straight big 3-pointers in the second overtime. What hurt Florida as much was the play of BYU guard Michael Loyd Jr., who scored a career-high 26 points off the bench.
2. Can Florida's frontline play physical without fouling and impact the game with offensive rebounds and second-chance points?
Vernon Macklin and Erik Murphy each picked up two first-half fouls, which impacted Florida's plan to pound the ball inside. Florida outrebounded BYU 45-33, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds. But all and all, UF's frontcourt didn't put together as dominating a performance inside as it was capable of doing against BYU's undersized frontcourt.
3. Will a new core of Florida players show any signs of jitters playing in their first NCAA Tournament?
Florida had 21 turnovers, resulting in 25 BYU points. Kenny Boynton dribbled the ball off his knee late in regulation, a critical mistake. Sophomore point guard Erving Walker had seven turnovers to just four assists. There were some jitters early, but it was more Florida's inability to handle BYU slapping at the basketball that caused many of the turnovers.
But in the end, BYU point guard Jimmer Fredette was too much for the Gators to handle. Fredette made two clutch 3-pointers in the second overtime, including a fall-away 24-footer, to lift BYU to a 99-92 double-overtime win over Florida.
Fredette's game-high 37 points came on a variety of scoop shots in the lane before his flurry of 3-pointers late.
"It's very disappointing," Florida junior forward Chandler Parsons said. "We only wanted to keep playing and advancing, make our season longer."
Parsons had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but his 12-footer at the buzzer over BYU guard Michael Loyd Jr. spun out of the rim. Parsons had hit game-winners earlier this season against North Carolina State and South Carolina, prompting Fredette to joke with him before the game not to hit a game-winner against his team.
"It rode out," Parsons said. "It happens. I'd like to have that shot again."
After Florida built a 79-75 lead in the first overtime, BYU tied the score at 81 on a Loyd Jr. bank shot. Again, Florida had the ball in its hands for the final shot. But off a timeout with 18.6 seconds left, freshman Kenny Boynton tried to pass over a double team with Dan Werner and Vernon Macklin open underneath the basket. Both Werner and Macklin attempted to bat the high pass into the basket but were unsuccessful before the buzzer sounded.
"I just tried to get my hands on it, and it got tipped away," Macklin said.
"We had the 2-on-1 on the backside, and he tried to get it down there," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "It probably wasn't the best of passes and, you know, I think he tried to get it down there. I think Dan wanted to make sure we had something (a shot) at the basket."
Boynton then fouled out with 3:58 left in the second overtime. That opened the door for Fredette, who scored eight points in the second overtime to break the game open. With just seven scholarship players available after Boynton fouled out, the Gators looked weary late in the second overtime.
"Our guys, I don't think they could have given me any more than they had physically," Donovan said.
Florida (21-13) ended a string of 12 straight NCAA Tournament wins. BYU, meanwhile, snapped a seven-game losing streak in NCAA Tournament play, winning its first tournament game since 1993.
"This was a long time coming for our program and a big win," BYU coach Dave Rose.
In the end, turnovers were Florida's undoing. BYU scored 25 points off a season-high 21 Florida turnovers. UF point guard Erving Walker finished with four assists and seven turnovers.
"I think sometimes our backcourt of Kenny and Erving, being so young, I think sometimes they think there are nine-point plays out there," Donovan said. "If they shoot it from somewhere as fast as they can and they go in a hurry, they can actually get more than 2 points. I was just trying to tell them we've got to execute on offense, we've got to slow down."
Making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007, Florida rallied back from a 13-point second-half deficit to send the game to overtime behind a terrific game from Boynton. The freshman scored 19 of his team-high 27 points in the second half while guarding Fredette on the other end of the floor.
"I just wanted to do whatever I could to get our team back in it," Boynton said.
Boynton scored 14 straight points on a flurry that included a driving layup, a three-point play and three straight 3-pointers that cut BYU's lead to 66-63 with 4:34 left.
"The resiliency he showed through how tired we were, to carry us in the comeback and knock down those shots at a huge time, really showed a lot about his character," Parsons said.
Florida stayed hot down the stretch. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Boynton and Parsons extended the Florida lead to 74-70 with 1:37 left. But BYU's Jackson Emery answered with a huge 3-pointer with 1:23 lead to cut UF's lead to 74-73. After Macklin made one of two free throws, Fredette hit a driving layup with 25.3 seconds left to tie the score at 75.
Florida came out with a gameplan to pound the ball inside to Macklin and Alex Tyus. But BYU matched Florida's physicality early. After Florida jumped to an early 28-21, BYU responded with a 10-0 run. Loyd Jr. scored 10 straight points during the run to put BYU ahead 31-28.
Macklin and freshman Erik Murphy each picked up two first-half fouls, putting UF's frontcourt in a bind. BYU out-rebounded Florida 15-14 in the first half.
Parsons added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. Florida cut BYU's lead to 35-33 after Boynton was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws. But the Gators remained down 35-33 at the half when a Parsons 3-point attempt at the first-half buzzer rimmed out.
Loyd Jr. came out of nowhere to score a career-high 26 points for BYU. He entered the game averaging 4.6 points per game.
"We were aware of him, because he scored 18 points in one of their (Mountain West) conference tournament games," Walker said. "He played a heckuva game. I tip my cap to him."
Florida is projected to lose just Werner, a senior, from its roster next season. Tyus, Macklin and Parsons, all juniors, said after the game that they expect to be back next season.
"We're all going to be back," Tyus said. "And we're going to be hungry."
